Space…The Final Frontier… For many, these words were the beginning of a journey of imagination, introspection and adventure. When it was announced that Star Trek was going to be coming to the world as a Massively Multiplayer Online game, it was only natural it would attract the interest of fans around the world. Within a year of the games launch, the developers added a feature that gives ANY player of the game a voice rarely available in most online games – the ability to make their own content.

Player Created Foundry Trailer

AN OVERVIEW

Greetings varied beings reading this! In Star Trek Online, I go by the “handle” Castmodean, and I represent a collective of authors and enthusiasts associated with the fansite StarbaseUGC.com. The “UGC” in the site name stands for User Generated Content, and that is what I would like to talk with you about today.

Want to investigate a distress call from Terra Nova, a planet off limits since the days of Captain Archer? Work with Starfleet Intelligence to extract a deep, covert operative from within the Orion Syndicate? Investigate why the Borg are attacking a specific colony and what one of its residents has to do with it? Or, perhaps as a warrior of the Klingon Empire, you are ordered to stop a Gorn rebellion or asked to investigate an intelligence report about a Starfleet Admiral which has been replaced by a shape-shifting alien. All of the previous examples are already available in-game to play now – but, best of all, they were created by players just like you using a special toolset called the Foundry.

When using the Foundry, you are no longer “just a player” in the world of STO – you have the opportunity to forge your own strange new worlds, new life and new civilizations. You can author a story for your friends to enjoy and others around the globe to discover. You can create a mission that has no combat, or you can create battles the likes of which have not been seen since the Battle of Sector 001. Perhaps you want to go a step further and create a series of missions, with a villain to rival Khan Noonien Singh himself who dogs the player’s steps and sows conflict and villainy. You, the author, can do all this and more within the Foundry. Oh, and let’s not forget that STO is a Free to Play game, so anyone can jump in and play, and with a little effort create missions. Please visit this page to visit STO’s Foundry hub, complete with videos, a FAQ, and more!

PLAYING MISSIONS

So, curious about what others have done with the tool? Perhaps even you just want to play something outside the normal mission chain in the game? You can do this! Let’s start by introducing you to how you can find those missions already created by authors. Foundry missions can be accessed through the Mission Journal; this can be accessed by either the default keyboard command, the letter “J”, or through the Delta shield icon (the combadge logo) located on the mini-map. On the “Available” tab of the journal, there are two additional tabs, “Community Authored” and “Review Content.”

Let’s touch on the latter first, as any new Foundry content starts its life listed under “Review Content”. In order to be visible in the “Community Authored” section, authors are required to obtain five reviews from other players. All missions pass through this tab when they are first published, so this is where you can find the freshest ideas players have created, or where your artistic steps into the Star Trek universe will first be displayed for all to see.

Above, I mentioned five examples of missions created using the Foundry. As an example, let’s choose the one regarding the Borg – it is a mission by RachelGarrett called “The Longing”. If you click on the “Community Authored” tab, a list of missions will populate the screen, along with a small arrow near the top of the screen. When you click on this arrow, a search box appears. If you know a specific mission you want to play, you can find it by typing the author’s name, mission title, or

project code here. Alternatively, you can also just scroll through the list of missions and choose one that looks interesting. Double clicking the mission in the window will bring up the mission specifics which usually tell you where the mission begins and what your goals are. From there you will accept the mission and travel to the destination specified and live the adventure!

After playing any of these missions, you can help the author gain greater recognition by leaving a review of their work. When you complete the mission, a box will appear that allows you to leave a brief feedback on your experiences, as well as rate the mission using a 5-star scale. Did you find a mission that blew your socks off (assuming your species is capable of wearing socks)? Wish there was some way to thank the author other than giving a 5-star rating? Well, you can! Cryptic recently added the ability to “tip” authors a quantity of Dilithium (an in-game ‘currency’ used to purchase various items including spaces to create more Foundry missions, more on that later) as a “thank you”.

Overwhelmed? It certainly can be daunting trying to explore all the myriad missions created by players, but there are resources to help you navigate these trials. One of the first places you can consult is the STO forums themselves. Under the “The Foundry for Star Trek Online banner”, there is a Mission Database forum. Contained within are postings and discussions by other players of missions available to play – additionally, you can discuss various aspects of the Foundry and ask advice as you take your steps into the larger world of user generated content. You can also visit StarbaseUGC.com where we feature reviews and author previews of missions.

CREATING MISSIONS

Now that you have had a taste of what can be done, you might be thinking, “how can I do this?” the answer is simple. Gold Members (lifetime and monthly subscribers) start with 8 slots to use immediately and Free to Play players (Silver Players) can use some of their in-game Dilithium (10,000 to be exact) to buy “project slots” that will open up mission authoring. This link contains much of the information a player needs to get started using the Foundry, with a basic overview that will allow you to take this:

…to this:

Want more in depth walkthroughs of mission creation? You can visit STO’s Foundry Tutorial section here – it contains a collection of videos tutorial that will get you started on your Foundry quest. You can also come and visit us at StarbaseUGC.com where we have links to many of the videos, as well as other written tutorials and a chat room where live help can often be found to your questions. Lastly, make sure to review the Foundry Terms of Service before you start creating missions – it has important information about the “dos” and “don’ts” regarding UGC for STO.

<strong>lacoste polo colors...</strong>
To realize essentially the most from any conversation, come across out what consumers want. Don inquire thoughts which might be answered which includes a or a In its place, you can ask open up finished concerns that should present you with a lot more i...

<strong>michael kors watched...</strong>
The great thing about boxing is it the one kind of exercise which most people want you to do alone. If I lifting weights I going to be interrupted by questions. Runs or bike rides become family walks or rides....

<strong>herve leger swimwear...</strong>
South African platinum miner Lonmin dropped 10.9p to 167.2p after warning that its number one furnace had packed up and would take up to three months to fix. The miner said the rebuild would push sales back but not affect forecasts for the full year....

<strong>miu miu ss10...</strong>
Most cameras specially SLR cameras where you can interchange lenses come accompanied by a great deal of extras A standard conundrum when you travel is you by no means could be various which ones you could possibly make full use of Almost all of them ar...

<strong>bogner new york...</strong>
Before the clearly show, deliver the host your listing of "sample inquiries." Nearly all of hosts will welcome your planning. They reserve the freedom to deviate through the checklist, and can. Nevertheless, they are really seemingly to pose several ...

<strong>burberry umbrellas...</strong>
Shredding service has a extraordinary course in position that ensures the paper from your information and paperwork that are ruined is recycled. The waste will in fact be despatched only to certified recycling companions that adjust to point out and fe...

<strong>mulberry suitcase...</strong>
I would research this game some, but it is fairly noob friendly if you are willing to learn and put time into it. The community can be great, and the game can be fun if you have a good group that rocks. Also, love to grind. You will do a lot of grinds ...

<strong>discount willy bogner...</strong>
What they failed to do was workout the way you could use these and avoid your fit trousers seeking like anything that were stuffed with a plastic bag. They also did not explain to us that you simply needed to straighten them by in some way having your ...

<strong>fendi leather bag...</strong>
Yes or No?You will have at long last identified the love of the everyday living. You are ready to pay out the remainder of your daily life together with your husband or wife. You're ready to commit to marriage....

<strong>barbour biker jacket ladies...</strong>
As it was noted on the Dissolve a few weeks ago (it may have been the AV Club), biopic tend to work much better when they focus on a particular period or aspect of someone life, and seeing that the main focus of this movie is the cracking of the Enigma...